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"TEAM TIK TOK": Lake Creek having fun on way to historic season
So, where is Lake Creek – the school with the double-body-of-water-name? In the chill town of Montgomery, near Lake Conroe.
The Lions are "Country Girls" with swag with fully bedazzled face paint and a chant or cheer for every pitch. Don't let the giggles fool you, they are killers on the diamond.
Emiley Kennedy is the ace. When I say ace, I mean she hasn't given up an Earned Run… all season. The 6-foot-1 lefty (9-0), who has signed with Texas A&M, is intimidating on the mound and has a lethal repertoire of pitches.
"Captain Swag" is leadoff hitter and shortstop Maddie McKee, a sophomore with over 133,000 followers on Tik Tok, who can run like the wind. Against Kingwood Park, she went 4-4 with four steals and three runs. She sets the tone. You get the picture.
The "Big Stick" is sophomore Ava Brown who hits at a .615 clip and has 10 home runs. Kennedy has 11 bombs.
The leader of the defense is sophomore catcher Kalee Rochinski (40K Tik Tok followers). The coach's daughter has a tremendous softball IQ and is VOCAL!
Caelee Clark, Jenny Robison, Madelyn Lopez and Shelby Winn are also big-time contributors in the field and at the plate. Brown is a beast on the mound as well with a 10-0 record and Brenna Kelly is also a talented pitcher with a 4-0 record.
Lake Creek has only played three years of varsity softball and has never won a playoff game. Well, that will change this season as the Lions are on a collision course with the likes of Barbers Hill, Santa Fe and Foster for the Regional title and beyond.
This girls are really good, and they know it.
THE INFLUENCER: Barbers Hill's Landry beast on the mound; famous on Tik Tok
But she's a fun, teenager scrolling through Social Media on the daily. She's pretty chill, honestly, and reluctantly posted a Tik Tok a while back.
"Like everyone, me and my friends made a ton of videos that were in my drafts," she laughed. "One day we made a dance and just posted it. It got like 13 follows. Then we just started doing them for fun and got a few thousand followers.
"Then I made one for one of my best friends and it got 1.8 million views. I was like, wow."
To date, @sammmmmmyyyyy02 has over 50,000 followers in a short period of time.
She made one for VYPE during our 2021 Baseball/Softball shoot and it got over 250,000 views. Boom, welcome to Tik Tok.
"I don't take it too serious," the National Honor Society honoree said. "It's just for fun and making jokes. Everyone is into Tik Tok and it's just something everyone has in common. I've done so many dances with all my softball friends. It's fun."
She likes Tik Tok star Charli D'Amilio, of course, and finds inspiration sometimes from a guy "Nate in the Army".
"Charli has a great presence on Tik Tok and Nate has helped me get through some personal stuff and is just inspiring," she said.
If you are wondering, she does read all her comments.
"I have a thing about reading them all," she said. "Look, I get it. I'm putting myself out on Social Media, not everyone is going to like me. "I don't really respond to the rude ones, but they can affect you. The nice comments can really make you have a good day."
Her current favorite Tik Tok?
"I love 'Big Gansta', it's so fun," she said.
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Landry's life has been softball since she was about seven-years-old. It got really busy in middle school as she began to build a name for herself.
"I was so young when the recruiting process," she laughed. "My friends were planning their birthdays and I'm on a trip looking at colleges."
Her career came to a screeching halt as a ninth-grader. While playing junior varsity basketball, she blew out her ACL during practice on a layup.
"That was the prime recruiting-time back then," she said. "I didn't know what was going to happen. I was devastated. It took a toll on me mentally."
Schools started backing off, but one stayed true – ULL.
"I love the vibe of Louisiana. My dad is from there and I love the culture. The coaches also have so much confidence in me," she said. "That was the difference. On my visit, there were a ton of fans… at an intra-squad game. Softball and baseball are a culture there."
I bet Tik Tok is a "thing" there too.